The first item of any list of this kind should be the Amazon Echo, and for good reason…

Amazon Echo Update

If you haven’t already heard of the Amazon Echo, it first came to being in 2014, and since then has continued to expand in features and popularity. People who have had it since then have now realized that they love talking to their house. Yes, with the Amazon Echo you can ask for the news and your coffee in the morning when you wake up, and you’ll receive it.

The bottom line is: the Amazon Echo is always listening, and it always works. This is why the Amazon Echo deserves to be mentioned first in our article about the most useful smart home devices. The Echo is without a doubt the most futuristic product on the market that is accessible to many people now.

3 Most Useful 2017 Smart Home Devices

Coffee Brewer

Now you can have your coffee whenever you want it without having to wait for the machine to get ready.

Sous Vide

This is a home cooking technique that has been put into smart machine form with precision cookers. It allows you to cook meals at a pre-determined time with pre-determined temperature settings. In addition, with certain smartphone apps, you can find and use all sorts of interesting recipes from famous chefs.

Motorized Smart Window Blinds

Blinds are the most versatile kind of window covering for adjusting the amount of light entering your home. It’s now available in smart device form. No more hassle dealing with tangled cords to get just the right amount of light into your room.

Smart Home Security Systems

Everyone wants to keep their home as safe as possible. Fortunately, the IoT (Internet of Things) has made home security easy. You have two choices: do you want a DIY smart home security system, or a professional smart home security installation?

With any type of system, you can opt to monitor your home yourself, or you can pay a subscription to a company to monitor your home for you. The company will then notify your local police or fire department if alarms are triggered. The professional installations are beyond the scope of this article, but we can talk about DIY systems. At the entry level, these are the smart home devices you’ll generally get:

2 door sensors

2 window sensors

a motion detector

a communication hub for these devices

You can always add more of the above if you need more. Other smart home devices you can add are:

As for customization, any decent system will allow you to customize the smart home devices and set rules for how everything is triggered. Most home security systems are controlled by an app where you can set all configurations.

As for which DIY home security systems we can recommend – Adobe, SkylinkNet, iSmartAlarm and SimpliSafe are good for homeowners on a budget. You’ll save more money on installation and subscription fees with these companies. You’ll also have the freedom to add additional smart home devices later on if you wish.

So that’s it for this article about the most useful smart home devices. What smart devices should we cover next? Let us know in the comments below. Don’t forget to share this article and help the IoT movement continue to grow.